Rafael Nadal can become World No. 1 once again after Monte-Carlo Masters 2022; check out how?

After numerous injuries and fitness concerns, there were talks in world of tennis that Rafael Nadal’s career might be coming towards an end. However, against all odds, the Spaniard returned and that too in some style! The 35-year-old brought back the old days and played some scintillating tennis to clinch the first Grand Slam of the year i.e. Australian Open 2022 to establish his authority once again.

He climbed to No. 5 in last week’s ATP rankings and after continuing his terrific form to recently win Mexican Open 2022 (an ATP 500 event) he is all set to displace Stefanos Tsitsipas, moving to No. 4 in the rankings set to release on this Monday.

But can Nadal re-claim the No. 1 spot in rankings anytime in future? Well, the answer is Yes! However, a lot of things need to happen for the Spaniard to come back to the summit, 2 years after getting dethroned by Novak Djokovic.

What all events need to happen for Nadal to become World No. 1 again?

Firstly, Rafael Nadal will need to win the upcoming two tennis tournaments i.e. Indians Wells (March 7-20 in California) and Monte-Carlo Masters (April 9-17 in France). With the kind of form he is in, it is quite possible but the Spaniard will need to be at his absolute best to clinch both the titles.

In addition, Nadal would need to hope that Novak Djokovic should not play the upcoming tournaments otherwise he will also get the required points to come back to top. But, it looks like the Serbian will not be allowed to play with his vaccination status becoming an issue for his entry, especially in US.

Nadal will also require World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev to earn less than 330 and 1,420 points respectively at the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters combined. It is very unlikely, especially for Medvedev to not secure these many points, since he has been in great form off late. However, anything can happen!

If the above mentioned events unfold as stated, Rafael Nadal will be crowned as World No. 1 once again when ATP Rankings are released on April 18, Monday.